LETTER: Church needs a dose of its own message

Saturday

Jan 18, 2014 at 7:00 PM

Dear Editor: More than 20 years ago, a man named Rodney King was arrested, which precipitated the Los Angeles riots. During the riots, he asked a memorable question: “Why can’t we all just get along?” While I doubt Mr. King ever thought about his question being asked in a religious setting, the question is a good question — even for those in the church.

Dock Taylor Jr.Tuscaloosa

Dear Editor: More than 20 years ago, a man named Rodney King was arrested, which precipitated the Los Angeles riots. During the riots, he asked a memorable question: “Why can’t we all just get along?” While I doubt Mr. King ever thought about his question being asked in a religious setting, the question is a good question — even for those in the church.The church is supposed to be the body of Christ and not a social gathering where some sit around having erroneous conversations that lead to and produce ungodliness. How is it that we are supposed to be the one entity that carries the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, the God news, to the world, yet we produce lies, falsehoods, gossip, mess, deceitfulness and backbiting.I have never seen this produced in any other entity but the church, especially in the 21st-century church. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to “speak the truth in love.” But as Jack Nicholson said in the movie, “A Few Good Men,” “You can’t handle the truth!”God is too good for us to experience His love and then be contented to abuse that love. How can we then define the Church, with its rising divorce rate and afflicted leadership? The Church needs to bathe itself in its own message.From the pulpit to the padded pews to the front entrance, we have to humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:5) and grow in grace.